In the garden...

 With all of this cold, wet weather, the seeds are slow coming up.

We need some warmth around here.

Last year, Tom put in a big veggie garden in the front field, so this year we're 

hoping to get a lot more food from here.

 Right now it looks pretty bare, but hopefully, in a month or so, it'll look lush with life.

We are still having fires in the wood stove in the evening so that goes to show you 

how cool things are...

But things are moving along and the perennials and trees and shrubs are

looking quite lush everywhere. 

In the greenhouse, the seeds are doing well, but only due to

 a heated seed bed for them to sit on...

Sometimes I wish I had one of those!

 When we first moved here, we found this double, cast iron farmhouse sink in the bush.
It took 4 of us to drag it out and it sat behind the woodshed for 10 years.
(I had grandiose dreams of having it in my beautifully renovated kitchen!)
Anyway last year, with the help of my friend Clayton, we built a stand for it...

 and I spent an entire afternoon scrubbing the dickens out of it...

Talk about ELBOW GREASE!!
Now this year, I finally sealed up the drain hole and turned it into
a babbling little water feature...

(that's my friend Irma's lovely cement work on the front)

...complete with adorning broken dishes and beach glass...

Of course the stars of the show at this time of year are the apple trees...

This little orchard was here 12 years ago when we bought the place and although
the trees get ravaged by the bears in the fall,
(we do our best to discourage them, but they always end up getting a bunch)
during the late spring months
it looks simply beautiful...

After a good rain, and a bit of sun, the blossoms come out in all their glory...

Nestled amongst small patches of bluebells, it's one of my favorite places to hang out...

Hopefully it'll be warm enough to provide nectar for the bees.
I've been potting up lots of herbs in containers on the upper deck this year as well.
Although I love walking out to the main garden, glass of wine in hand, late afternoon sun,
to pick lettuce and bits for salad, it's nice to have some right at hand
in the midst of whipping up a culinary extravaganza!

I'm trying my hand at growing rhubarb in a big planter since I read that
it does quite well, given plenty of food and water.

We save all of our 'grey' water from dishes and such to water all the plants in pots around the house.
Being on a well, in the summer, we are very careful with the water we use and
try to use this grey water to our advantage.

So hopefully with the temps rising a bit, things will begin to thrive...

I watch farmlady's blog down in California with envy.
All of that sun and things so much further along than here...
but then I think...soon enough it'll be warm enough to bare the shoulders
and swim in the lake!
Summer's coming!!